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Kurukshetra War
Accoriding to the Mahabharata, the Kurukshetra war was a 18 day long dynastic succession struggle fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas of the Kuru tribe at Kurukshetra (modern-day Haryana, India) for the throne of Hastinapura. It involved a number of ancient kingdoms participating as allies of the rival groups. The war is considered to be an essential element of the epic. The Kurukshetra War is believed to date variously from 6000 BCE to 500 BCE, Yogananda, Paramahansa (2007). God talks with Arjuna. Diamond Pocket Books. p. xxi. ISBN 000-00-00000-00-0. "the dates proposed for the Kurukshetra war range from as early as 6000 BC to as recently as 500 BC". based on the astronomical and literary information from Mahābhārata. The history of the Kurukshetra War is also traced to the Battle of the Ten Kings mentioned in Rigveda. S.S.N. Murthy (14 November 2003). "The Questionable Historicity of the Mahābhārat". Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies 10 (5): 1–15. ISSN 1084-7561. Background Prior to the war, the Kuru territory had been divided into two, one ruled by Dhritarashtra with its capital at Hastinapura, and another ruled by Yudhisthira with the center at Indraprastha. The immediate dispute between the Kauravas (sons of Dhritarashtra) and the Pandavas arose from a game of dice, which Duryodhana won by deceit, forcing their Pandava cousins to transfer their entire territories to the Kauravas (to Hastinapura) and to "go-into-exile" for thirteen years. The dispute escalated into a full scale war when Prince Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, driven by jealousy, refused to restore the Pandavas their territories after the exile as earlier decided, as Duryodhana objects that they were discovered while in exile, and that no return of their kingdom was agreed. At the Matsya kingdom, the Pandavas attempted to reach a diplomatic solution. Balarama, Krishna's older brother, advised the Pandavas to send an emissary to get the support of the elders of the family like Bheeshma, Dhritarashtra, Drona, Karna, and even Shakuni, with the message "Let us avoid armed conflict as much as possible. Only that which is accrued in peace is worthwhile. Out of war, nothing but wrong can issue". C. Rajagopalachari, Mahābhārata, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 1994 While the emissary was in the Kaurava court, the Pandavas continued with war preparations. They sent messages requesting assistance to a number of neighbouring kingdoms. Their ambassador of peace was insulted and turned away by Duryodhana, who was intent on war, defying the counsel of elders like Bheeshma. After several failed attempts on peace, war seemed inevitable. The two sides to the war were the Pandavas and the Kauravas (the official Kuru tribe now ruling both Hastinapura and Indraprastha) and their allies. The war itself is styled in the form of a dialogue between between Kuru king Dhritarashtra and Sanjaya, his advisor and chariot driver. Sanjaya narrates each incident of the Kurukshetra War, fought in 18 days, as and when it happened. Dhritarāshtra sometimes asks questions and doubts and sometimes laments, knowing about the destruction caused by the war, to his sons, friends and kinsmen. He also feels guilty, due to his own role, that led to this war, destructive to the entire Indian subcontinent. In the beginning Sanjaya gives a description of the various continents of the Earth, the other planets, and focuses on the Indian Subcontinent and gives an elaborate list of hundreds of kingdoms, tribes, provinces, cities, towns, villages, rivers, mountains and forests in the ancient Indian subcontinent. He also explains about the military formations adopted by each side on each day, the death of each hero and the details of each war-racing. Krishna's peace mission As a last attempt at peace, Krishna traveled to Hastinapura to persuade the Kauravas to embark upon a peaceful path with him. At Hastinapura, Krishna took his meals and stayed at the house of the minister, Vidura, a religious man and a "devotee" of Krishna. Duryodhana was insulted that Krishna had turned down his invitation to dine with him and stay in his royal palace. Determined to stop the peace mission, Duryodhana plotted to arrest Krishna. At the formal presentation of the peace proposal by Krishna at the court of Hastinapura, Krishna asked Duryodhana to give back Indraprastha or if not at least five villages, one for each of the Pandavas. Duryodhana refused, saying he could not give land equivalent to the tip of a needle thus refusing Krishna's peace proposals. Duryodhana then publicly ordered his arrest whereupon Krishna showed him his divine form radiating intense light. Smitten by anger at the refusal to his proposal, he told Duryodhana that his downfall was inevitable, much to the shock of Dhritharashtra, who tried to pacify the Lord. Krishna returned to Upalavya and told the Pandavas that there was no other way but to wage war to gain the kingdom that was rightfully theirs. War preparations Krishna had a large army known as the Narayani Sena, rumored to be invincible, and was a great warrior himself. Duryodhana and Arjuna thus both went to Krishna at Dwarka to asked for his help. Duryodhana arrived first, and found Krishna asleep. Being vain and arrogant, Duryodhana sat at his head considering both of them equal. Arjuna arrived later and sat at his feet. When Krishna woke up, he saw Arjuna first and thus offered him the opportunity to make his request first. Krishna stated that one side would get the Narayani Sena, while Krishna himself would fight on the opposite side. Arjuna immediately chose Krishna as a result of which the Narayani Sena went to Duryodhana. Both Duryodhana and Arjuna returned satisfied. Combatants The Kurus were an Indo-Aryan tribe which formed a kingdom in the Vedic period of India. They formed the first political center of the Indo-Aryans after the Rigvedic period, after their emergence from the Punjab, and it was there that the codification and redaction of the Vedic texts began. Archaeologically, they most likely correspond to the Black and Red Ware Culture of the 12th to 9th centuries BC, at the beginning of the Iron Age in western India. Panchala was the second "urban" center of Vedic civilization, as its focus moved east from the Punjab, after the focus of power had been with the Kurus in the early Iron Age. This period is associated with the Painted Grey Ware culture, arising around 1100 B.C.E, and declining from 600 B.C.E, with the end of the Vedic period. The ruling confederacy, the Panchalas, as their name suggests, probably consisted of five clans - the Krivis, the Turvashas, The Keshins, the Srinjayas and the Somakas. Drupada, whose daughter Draupadi was married to the Pandavas belonged to the Somaka clan. However, the Mahabharata and the Puranas consider the ruling clan of the northern Panchala as an offshoot of the Bharata clan and Divodasa, Sudas, Srinjaya, Somaka and Drupada (also called Yajnasena) were the most notable rulers of this clan. Pandava army The Pandava army consisted of seven Akshauhinis lead by King Virata, Bhima, Dhristadyumna, Satyaki, Shikhandi, Drupada and Chekithana. After consulting the other commanders, Dhristadyumna was appointed as commander-in-chief. Almost all major tribes over India such as the Cholas, Magadhas, Kekayas and Pandyas allied with the Pandavas. Kaurava army The Kaurava army was divided into eleven Akshauhinis. Duryodhana requested Bheeshma to command the Kaurava army. Bheeshma accepted on the condition that, while he would fight the battle sincerely, he would not harm the five Pandava brothers. In addition, Bheeshma said that Karna would not fight under him as long as he is in the battlefied. It is believed by many that Bheeshma pushed Karna into taking this decision due to his affection towards the Pandavas - the Kauravas would be overwhelmingly powerful if both he and Karna appeared in battle simultaneously. However the excuse he used to prevent their simultaneous fighting was that his guru (Parshurama) was insulted by Karna. Apart from the one hundred Kaurava brothers, headed by Duryodhana himself and his brother Dushasana, the second eldest son of Dhritarashtra, the Kauravas were assisted on the battlefield by Drona and his son Ashwatthama, the Kaurava's brother-in-law Jayadratha, the brahmins Kripa, Kritavarma, Shalya, Sudakshina, Bhurisravas, Bahlika, Shakuni, and many more who were bound by their loyalty towards either Hastinapura or Dhritarashtra. Neutral parties The kingdom of Vidarbha, with its King Rukmi, and Balarama were the only neutrals in this war. "Rukmini", MahabharataOnline.com. Retrieved 2008-05-27. Army divisions and weaponry Each army consisted of several divisions; the Kauravas had 11 while the Pandavas controlled 7. A division (akshauhini) included 21,870 chariots and chariot-riders, 21,870 elephants and riders, 65,610 horses and riders, and 109,350 foot-soldiers (in a ratio of 1:1:3:5). The combined number of warriors and soldiers in both armies was approximately 3.94 million.C. Rajagopalachari, Mahābhārata, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 1994 pp 183 During the Kurukshetra War, the weapons used included: the bow and arrows, the weapon of choice for Arjuna, Bheeshma, Drona, Karna and Abhimanyu; the mace, chosen by Bhima and Duryodhana, the spear and the dagger or sword. Rules of battle The war was fought according to the rules of dharmayuddha. The rules included: *Fighting was to begin at sunrise and end at sunset. *Multiple warriors must not attack a single warrior. *Warriors must not attack unarmed, defenseless, unconscious or defeated persons. *Warriors must not harm people or animals not directly taking part in the war. *Warriors may not strike below the waistline. *Animals not considered direct threats are not to be injured or killed. *Two warriors may duel, or engage in prolonged personal combat, only if they carry the same weapons and they are on the same mount (no mount, a horse, an elephant, or a chariot). *Warriors may not engage in any 'unfair' warfare whatsoever. *No warrior may attack a woman. Course of war Events before the battle *Three important planetary formations took place on the day before the war - retrograde Mars reached Antares, there was a lunar eclipse near the Pleiades, and a conjunction of Saturn with Aldebaran. *Krishna preached the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna before the war. *Yudhisthira took the blessings of Bheeshma. Day 1 As the war commenced, Bheeshma wreaked havoc throughout the Pandava army wherever he went. Seeing this, Arjuna took on his first encounter with Bheeshma. On the other fronts, Satyaki clashed with Kritavarma and Bhima with Duryodhana. Duryodhana was severely wounded and swooned, and was thus carried off the battle-field. Susharma, the king of Trigarta, had a brief fight with Chekitana resulting in his victory. Yudhishthira struck with Shalya, Dhristadyumna with Drona, Ghathothkacha with Bahlika, Duhshasana with Nakula and Shikhandi with Ashwatthama. Later in the day, Abhimanyu faced off with Bheeshma in an even fight. On the other front, prince Uttara mounted an attack on Shal ya. The Madra ruler's chariot was destroyed and his horses slain. Enraged, Shalya speared Uttara in the chest and killed him. Seeing Uttara dead, his elder brother Shweta advanced to face Bheeshma. After killing many of Bheeshma's aksaushini, Shweta finally fell to an arrow from Bheeshma. At the end of the day, the Pandavas were defeated. Day 2 The second day of the war proved to be a success for the Pandavas. Arjuna decided that in order to vanquish the Kauravas, Bheeshma needed to be defeated. Krishna skilfully located Bheeshma's chariot and the two had a long duel. On the other front, Drona and Drishtadyumna were locked in a deadly combat. Drona killed Drishtadyumna's charioteer with a shaft and destroyed his bow. Drishtadyumna took up his mace but was immediately disarmed by Drona. Undeterred, Drishtadyumna took up a sword to fight but Drona neutralized him yet again. At this moment, Bhima intervened and sped off with Dhrishtadyumna on his chariot. At noon, Bhima raged a war against the Kalingas. Using his formidable mace, Bhima annihilated most of the Kalinga army and wreaked havoc upon them. Kalinga's elephant division was utterly destroyed and its foremost warriors killed. Bheeshma intervened in order to protect the Kalinga army and engaged in combat with Bhima. Satyaki, who was assisting Bhima, shot at Bheeshma's charioteer and killed him. Bheeshma's horses, with no one to control them, bolted carrying Bheeshma away from the battlefield. In the late afternoon, Abhimanyu took on Duryodhana's son Lakshmana and managed to defeat him. After the second day, the Kauravas had suffered huge losses. Day 3 The third day of the war started off with a duel between Duryodhana and Bhima, which the latter won. Abhimanyu and Satyaki combined to defeat the Gandhara forces of Shakuni. Meanwhile, Bheeshma attacked the Pandavas with unimaginable force and tore apart their battle formation. In an attempt to prevent this, Arjuna rushed to duel with Bheeshma in an evenly-matched fight. By noon, Arjuna had begun to falter. In a desperate bid to thwart Bheeshma's onslaught, Krishna took up his discus (thereby breaking his vow of not taking up arms) and rushed towards Bheeshma to kill him. After Arjuna reminded him of the vow, Krishna threw away the discus and retreated to the chariot. On the other front, Bhima and Ghatotkacha were engaged in combat with Duryodhana. Duryodhana swooned in his chariot and was driven away to safety. Disheartened at this loss, the Kaurava soldiers lost ground and were attacked mercilessly. The third day ended with a win for the Pandavas. Day 4 On the fouth day, Arjuna again clashed with Bheeshma. Duryodhana decided to attack Abhimanyu in order to distract Arjuna but was defeated. Arjuna ran to his aid joined by Dhrishtadyumna. In turn, Duryodhana and his brothers helped Shalya against Abhimanyu. Bhima appeared on the scene with his mace aloft and slew many Kaurava warriors. In an effort to thwart Bhima's advance Duryodhana released the elephant squad of Magadha. Similarly to the Kalinga squad, this division was obliterated by Bhima. The surviving elephants ran amok causing a stampede and thereby trampling their own soldiers. Duryodhana now led an all-out attack against Bhima. Bhima withstood the attack and managed to kill seven of the Kaurava brothers, but was finally struck by an arrow and fell down dazed. The fourth day of war ended with victory for the Pandavas. Duryodhana, overwhelmed by sorrow at the loss of his brothers, went to Bheeshma at the end of the fourth day, and asked his commander how could the Pandavas, facing a superior force against them, still prevail and win. Bheeshma replied that the Pandavas had justice on their side and advised Duryodhana to seek peace. Day 5 The fifth day was marked by carnage on both sides. Bheeshma continued his attack on the Pandavas, Drona engaged in a fierce duel with Satyaki and Bhima, while Arjuna continued his widespread onslaught on the Kaurava army. By noon, a large number of soldiers were killed on both sides. The afternoon witnessed a duel between Bhurishrava and Satyaki. Bhurishrava killed Satyaki's sons and seriously injured him. Meanwhile, Arjuna lead a furious attack on the Kauravas. Day 6 The unimaginable carnage continued during the ensuing days of the battle. Drishtadyumna engaged in combat with Drona, Bhima with Duryodhana, Kripacharya with Arjuna and Satyaki with Bhurishrava. Bhima badly injured Duryodhana forcing him to flee from battle. Dronacharya caused immense loss of life on the Pandava side. Both armies were thrown into disarray. By the end of the day, most of the soldiers were badly wounded. Day 7 The seventh day of the war saw Bheeshma with great valour. The Pandava army was thrown into disarray and suffered huge losses. King Virata clashed with Drona, Shikhandi with Ashwatthama and Nakula and Sahadeva with Shalya. Virata was swiftly defeated by Drona while Shikhandi was forced to flee to Satyaki's chariot. Nakula and Shalya managed to render Shalya unconscious. On the other fronts, several duels took place: Yudhisthira clashed with Shrutayu, Chekitana with Kripacharya and Dhrishketu with Bhurishrava. The battle for the day resulted in equal losses to both sides. Day 8 Early on in the battle, Bhima killed eight of the Kaurava brothers. Duryodhana's heart lost courage before this and his army was scattered by Bhima's onslaught. On the other front, Iravana (Arjuna's son through Uloopi) was killed in a duel with the demon Alambusha. When Arjuna heard this, he broke down completely and lost the will to fight. Ghatotkacha uttered a loud war-cry which made all the assembled soldiers tremble. With his division, he fell upon the Kaurava army ferociously. The destruction he wrought was so great that at many points the Kaurava formation was broken. Seeing this, Duryodhana personally led an attack on Bhima's son. The king of Vanga joined Duryodhana with his elephants and they lead a strong counterattack against Ghatotkacha. Ghatotkacha hurled a javelin which would have ended Duryodhana's career but for the Vanga chief's prompt intervention with one of his elephants. The missile hit the beast, which fell dead, and Duryodhana was saved. Bheeshma was anxious about Duryodhana and sent a large force under Drona to support the Kaurava prince. Fearing for Ghatotkacha's safety, Yudhisthira prompted Bhima to rush to his aid. The battle became fiercer than before and Bhima killed eight more of the Kaurava brothers. The battle of the day ended in favour of the Pandavas. Day 9 References Category:Wars